is that its leading man, newcomer Matthew Risch, the understudy who replaced Christian Hoff in the eleventh hour, fails to deliver the requisite dollop of charm to his catting around. Reviewers have compared him with actors they never saw in the role, namely Gene Kelly, or men who have never essayed Joey onstage, including Hugh Jackman, Harry Connick Jr. and, yes, Frank Sinatra, who insisted, among other woeful ideas, that he sing "The Lady Is a Tramp" in the misconceived (and far happier) 1957 film version. A big, toothy movie star might have assured theatergoers that this cad really wasn't what he is—a cad. Risch, to his credit, offers a tough, uncompromising portrait that allows only two brief moments of moral conscience—both of which lead Joey to shield his girlfriend Jenny from, well, Joey. adding Coincidence or not, Risch's Joey is a younger brother of Erwin Schrott's Don Giovanni, seen at the Met Opera earlier this season. When these guys smile, it's the devil's work at play with any woman's affections. If the show offers a pessimistic view of female sexuality, then so be it. Joey and Giovanni, not the women, are the ones going straight to hell. and "In the end, Mantello and Risch's Joey is an easy antihero to understand, if not love." Legacy Looking retrospectively, musical theatre historian Ethan Mordden pronounced Pal Joey'''s book is a "breakthrough in character writing". He stated that "the two leads and Linda are extremely well-drawn", and that though "Pal Joey is tough, its script true to its characters". He also believed that the show "finds Rodgers and Hart at their best". Historians Everett and Laird wrote that Pal Joey'' is the "most important work produced by Rodgers and Hart", and is the "most integrated of their musicals". Awards and nominations 1952 Broadway revival 1963 City Center revival 1977 Broadway revival 1980 London revival 2002 Philadelphia production 2008 Broadway revival Recordings The 1950 studio cast recording starring Vivienne Segal and Harold Lang was released by Columbia on February 12, 1951. A partial cast recording of the 1952 Broadway revival was released in January 1952 by Capitol Records. It featured Helen Gallagher, Elaine Stritch and others from the revival cast, but starred non-cast members Jane Froman and Dick Beavers as Vera and Joey, in place of Segal and Lang. A 1980 London Revival Cast recording was released on the TER Label/JAY Records, starring